Nomination for South Harwich Methodist Church

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received JUL 25 1986 date entered historic South Harwich Methodist Church and or common Same 2. Location street & number 270 Chatham Road N/A not for publication city, town Harwich N/A vicinity of state MA 3.

Classification Category Ownership _ district - public * private Structure site object both Public Acquisition N/ An process being considrred code 025 Barnstable county code 001 Status - occupied x unoccupied work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military - museum - park - private residence X religious scientific - transportation - other: 4. Owner of Property name South HarwichMethodist Church street & number 2/0 Chatham Road city, town Harwich N/A- vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Barnstable County Registry of Deeds street & number Barstable Village city, town Barnstable state 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of title the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has this property been determined eligible? MA - yes X no date 1984 Inv. #314 _federalX state - county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylston Street city, 1 Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description South Harwich Methodist Church,Harwich Massachusetts Condition - zexcellent good fair deteriorated _ ruins - unexposed Check one - x unaltered altered Check one - x original site - moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The South Harwich Methodist Church, built in 1836, occupies a prominent site at the intersection of Chatham, Deep Hole, and 01d County Roads in the resort and residential community of Harwich on the south side of the Cape Cod peninsula. The church is set back about 100 feet from the road and faces south on a level lot. Fronting the church is a broad lawn, while to the east, west, and north is a graveyard whose first burials predate the church's construction by seven years. A granite-paved walkway leads from a roadside cattle blind of cut stone to the church. Residences (some of them of 19th century construction) and 20th century motels and commercial buildings are located in the church's immediate neighborhood. The clapboard-sheathed church is a simple, gable-roofed structure, thirty-seven feet wide and forty-five feet long. It is sited with its gable end facing the street.

The building rises one story from a brick foundation. There is no tower- The church's exterior displays a mix of Greek Revival and Gothic Revival elements. The broad facade is framed by delicate panelled pilasters, which support the building's entablature and cornice with returns. Vented windows and doors are set within lancet-headed openings. The three-bay main facade features a central window with paired 6/6 sash, flanked by entryways. Two granite steps lead to each entryway. Both the east and west facades each contain three 1ancet-headed window openings containing paired 6/6 sash surmounted by vents. On the rear, northern facade are located two 6/6 sash windows, also within 1ancet-headed windows. Interior The building's interior is remarkably intact. In plan, it is essentially rectangular, with two vestibules on either side of the central window.

The altar is set in front of a small, round-arched bay projecting to the rear of the building. A balcony was removed in the late 19th century. Most notable are the church's decorative features, including trompe l'oeil wal1 coverings: Corinthian columns flank rectangular panels, which appear to be set beneath bracketed lintels; above them is a half-round ornamental panel within a rounded, classically molded arch, also trompe 1'oeil. Nineteentt century bracket oil lamps and chandelier (in use until 1968, but non electrified) and original pews and pulpit also survive. Burying Ground The burying ground surrounding the church contains approximately 400 gravestones dating from 1829 to the present.

Gravestones are in excellent Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Far NPS use only received date entered South Harwic Methodist Church Continuation sheet South Harwich, Wassachusetts Item number 7 Page 1 condi tion, and are maintained by the town of Harwich. Their ornamentation includes willows and winged angels; one stone, marking the grave of a Twelve monuments and a single family tomb are present. Most of those buried in the graveyard are Harwich OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 dozen European sailors, who died in a shipwreck off South Harwich in the 1920s. Archaeol ogy While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it 1s ossible that sites are present, especially given the large lot size.

surviving sites would be significant since the patterns of prehistoric occupation in Harwich are not well understood. Any There is also a potential for historical archaeological features. Archaeological testing may reveal the presence of buildings no longer extant, such as carriage houses or outbuildings. Occupation-related features, particularly privies and trash pits, are also likely to be present. Careful sampling and analysis of these features would help to document the social, cultural, and economic patterns associated with the emergence of Methodism and how these changed over a century of the buildings use.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance South Harwich Methgdist Church, Harwich Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture X economics architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture. X. religion law literature military music philosophy politics/government science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1836 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The South Harwich Methodist Church, built in 1836, holds historical associations with the growth of Methodism in the central Cape Cod town of Harwich and was in daily use until the mid 20th century. Architecturally, the church is a well-preserved representative of the simply ornamented, rec tangular-pl an churches buildings erected on the Cape during the first half of the 19th century, a period of unprecedented ecclesiastical construction. The church's use of both Greek Revival and Gothic Revival features distinguishes it, as does its particularly intact interior. Retaining integrity of location, design, setting, materials, feeling, and workmanship, the South Harwich Methodist Church thus fulfils Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level.

While Methodist societies had been formed in America prior to the Revolution, Methodism was not promulgated on the Cape Cod peninsula until ca. 1790, when itinerant minister Jesse Lee, disciple of southern evangelical Devereux Jarratt, visited a number of towns in the region. With the help of other circuit riders, Methodism's spread thereafter was rapid, coupled with the construction of a number of Methodist meetinghouses. In the Harwich area, Methodist converts built a meetinghouse on Queen Anne Road on the Chatham border in East Harwich in 1799. (This was replaced in 1811 with a structure that was apparently similar to the nominated property, with gable front and framing pilasters; it was substantially altered in 1905.) The nominated property, the town's second Methodist seat of worship, was erected in 1836 on 1and deeded to the church by John Paine Eldredge.

The first burials took place prior to the church's construction in 1829. Other societies followed shortly thereafter, in North Harwich in 1842 and near the Chatham line at Bethel in 1853 (neither survive). When built, the nominated property housed a congregation calling itself Re formed Methodist (or anti-episcopal). The simple meetinghouse was an appropriate place of worship for a denomination which in its early years adhered strictly to the virtues of plainness and modesty (such virtues would become less widely held by the mid 19th century). In 1845, the congregation became Wesleyan--and abolitionist--in its orientation. Wesleyan doctrine was rooted in a demand for moral perfection on the issue of slavery.

After two Wesleyan ministers served brief tenures with leaders agreed that the most peaceful way to settle the disagreements was to auction the church building to the highest bidder, who would thereafter set the tone for future worship services. Amasa Nickerson, one of the church's Continued 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References See Continuation Sheet 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 2.39 Quadrangle name Harwich UT M References Quadrangle scale 1:25000 A L119/ 14/12/860/ Zone Easting 146|14311,0 Northing ELI GLI LU LIL LIlIL Easting Northing DLULLIL LILILL FLU LIILUL LILILIL HLULLILILILILLL Verbal boundary description and justification The property nominated includes the church, its adjoining burlal ground, and the plot on which they sit. See attached assessor's map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11.

Form Prepared By Betsy Friedberg ,Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission with Walker and Chartes H Detwiller organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date June 1986 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state MA 02210 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _ national - state Xlocal As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- 665),Ihereby nominate this propertyfor inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature alerie t Talmage title State Historic Preservation Officer, Massachusetts Historice duhe 4486 Executive Director 21,1986 Commission For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register delare, 4959580 che Matienal Register date 8/21/86 firkospor of the Mationat Register Attest: date Chief of Registration GPO 911-399 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For NPS use only received date entered South Harwich Methodist Church Continuation sheet South Harwich, Massachusettstem number 8 Page 1 founding members, bid $1500 for the church.

Together with five other members, he was instrumental in returning the South Harwich congregation to the less liberal, more traditional arm of the church, the Methodist Episcopal Con ference - The schism left the congregation with only about 20 members, as dissenting Wesleyans departed. Nickerson and his sons acted as lay preachers until 1878, when the congregation joined with the East Harwich Methodist Church to share the services of a minister (a relationship that continued until 1886). The congregation has remained Methodist Episcopal, celebrating its 1ast service in 1984. While the size of the congregation has risen and fallen over the past decades, at present fewer than a dozen members are known to survive. Between 1820 and 1840, Harwich was among the fastest growing communities on Cape Cod.

Development in the Federal period concentrated in Harwich Center, to the west of the nominated property, with smaller nodes near industrial sites at North Harwich, and at East Harwich and Harwich Port. Dispersed settlement after the Revolution was located along main highways,including Chatham Road and Main Street. While never a major settlement, South Harwich developed during the 1830s, along Chatham and County Roads and Main Street. Simulating this minor growth was the presence of the Methodist meetinghouse. Devel opment also extended south along Deep Hole Road (opposite the church), less than a mile to a wharf on Nantucket Sound. Like other Harwich villages, South Harwich maintained associations with the The church's history, too, demonstrates this connection. Among its congregants were a number of Harwich sea captains.

A large wooden model of a ship, built by members of the congregation, was used for many years as the altar during the Christmas season. Today, the church stands as one of the oldest surviving Methodist churches on the Cape Cod peninsula, constructed during the denomination's period of greatest expansion. Between 1825 and 1836, reflecting the strength and prosperity of Methodism, three early Methodist societies rebuilt preexisting Revival-style nodge, bunit rar 127, Ceathas, Oisted farthen's Gonak Register in 1983, it now serves as Town Hall). Nine new societies, including South the same period. The South Harwich church is significant architecturally and is among the best preserved. It is one of a small group of meetinghouses on the Cape reflecting both Greek Revival and Gothic Revival influences.

The building's orientation of gable-end main facade and corner pilasters are clearly derived from the Greek Revival. its most significant exterior feature, however, the nominated property departs from tradition with its Gothic Revival 1ancet-headed windows and door openings. The absence of a tower further differentiates this structure from others of the period. The church's well-preserved interior, retaining its original trompe 1'oeil wall coverings, pews, pulpit, and light fixtures, are particularly significant. NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form South Harwich Methodist Church 9 Continuation sheet South Harwich, Massachusetts Item number OMBNO.1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use anly received date entered 1 Page 9.

Major Bibliographic References Freeman, Frederick, The History of Cape Cod, Annals of the Thirteen Towns of Barns table County. Bos ton, T869. Harwich, Mass., 275th Conmittee, 275th Anniversary, Sketch of the Years 1694-1969 in Harwich, Town of the Century, 1776-1976. Bicentennial Conmittee, 1976. Nickerson, Obed, "History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Harwich, Mass." Harwich, 1886. 1858 Map of Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket. Boston, 1858. 86001887 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET South Harwich Methodist Church Barnstable County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: -sample Jrequest Working No. 2 5 1986 Fed. Reg.

Date: 2/3/83 Date Due: _ 8/21/86-9/8/86 Entered in tAction: _ACCEPT 8-2/-86 National Register - RETURN _REJECT Federal Agency: _ -appeal -NR decision Recom./Criteria. Reviewer Discipline Date _ see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition - excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one -J unaltered Jaltered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one -original site J moved date 8.

Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name_ UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature title 13. Other date -Maps Photographs -Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to.

Signed Date Phone: _ GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet SOUTH F METHODIS Jound WORSHIP SI CHURCH S( REV.JOHN A.ST South Harwich Methodist Church 270 Chatham Road Harwich, MA Photographer: Rufus Walker Photo 1 of 2 View of main(north) facade. South Harwich Methodist Church 270 Chatham Road Harwich, MA Photographer unknown Photo 2 of 2 View of Main(north) facade. 1924 THE TOWN OF TOWN OF HARWICH 732 MAIN STREET P.O. BOX 993 HARWICH, MA 02645 Office of BOARD OF SELECTMEN (617) 432-0145 May 12, 1986 Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C Streets, N. W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms.

Shull: The Harwich Board of Selectmen recognizes that the following property will be considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places by the Massachusetts State Review Board at its meeting on June 11, 1986: South Harwich Methodist Episcopal Church 270 Chatham Road South Harwich, MA 02661 The Board is aware of both the incentives and disincentives of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and other consequences of National Register listing and hereby waives by right the 30 day commenting period. We will all be honored to have this historical landmark included in the National Register. Very truly yours, remanklAlim liana. FHA/b ECEIVE MAY | 4 1986 3-Copies 0 093546421 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A.

Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Offficer July 21, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull, Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms:: Duxbury, OLD SHIPBUILDER'S HISTORIC DISTRICT, located on both sides of Washington Street from Rowden Avenue to just north of South Duxbury. Harwich, BERRY, CAPTAIN JAMES HOUSE, 37 Main Street, Harwich, SOUTH METHODIST CHURCH, 270 Chatham Road. Needham, SMITH, JAMES HOUSE, 706 Great Plain Avenue. All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment.

Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Saran J. Zimmerman Sarah J. Zimmerman Director, Preservation Planning Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/dr 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470